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Story: 7

Cute girls doing cute things!! The story reuses some overused elements from earlier Love Live series and there are one or two weird plot elements, but the formation of this series' school idol group, Liella!, is satisfying. The main characters are all first years, and the ending of this season sets up subsequent seasons to show Liella!'s journey after the first year. This would be the first Love Live series to show more than one year of a group's journey, so I'm excited to see what happens next.


Art: 9

The scenery and backgrounds in this show are extremely detailed and colorful, and the quantity of ... different backgrounds used in each episode is incredible. Specifically, the buildings and streets feel warm and immersive. I think this sets a new standard for art in Love Live anime.

I was skeptical about the character designs initially, but I grew to like them after the first or second episode. They are all cute, and their expressions and costumes are equally cute.

CG is used during the dances, and it blends nicely with the hand drawn animation. There were some cool effects such as the lighting in Tiny Stars and the reflections in the bubbles in Wish Song.


Sound: 10

Love Live is known for its music, and every song in this show is good. Mirai Yohou Hallelujah!, Mirai wa Kaze no You ni, and Tiny Stars are outstanding. My other favorites are Tokonatsu Sunshine, Dreaming Energy, and Nonfiction.

Superstar's ED is my favorite among all the Love Live EDs. I love hearing the ED begin to play during an emotionally climactic scene. The song begins with delicate piano notes and becomes more upbeat as more instruments begin playing. This creates a beautiful feeling of hope and catharsis. The character who was the focus of the episode sings the ED, and this makes it hit extra hard. The music, lyrics, and visuals portray Superstar's themes of faith in oneself. At the start of the chorus, the girls are shown running together along the Olympic Bridge at sunset. The animation in this shot is beautiful and fits the tone of the song perfectly.

The seiyu's performances were outstanding. Their singing was consistently beautiful, and their voice acting was amazingly expressive. Painful and sorrowful moments sounded and felt real. Also, there were plenty of cute and funny sounds during slice of life scenes.


Character: 9

The 5 main characters are great. This season shows us how they meet, and we see them become friends, play together, work hard together, and give each other support. The character development was satisfying, and I cried during a few episodes.

The rival group, Sunny Pa, does not receive enough screen time. I hope they get more in season 2.


Enjoyment: 10

I love Love Live, and I loved watching Superstar.


Overall: 10

If you like Love Live, I recommend this show. If you like cute girls doing cute things and singing and dancing, this show is worth a try.

After finishing season 3, I am returning to give my thoughts. I rank the seasons 3 > 1 > 2. Season 2 is my least favorite, but it's worth watching to be ready for season 3. What do I not like and what do I like?

> What do I not like?

The biggest problem is introducing 25 new characters (5 bands with 5 girls each). These characters are in the mobile game, and the anime has to introduce them to grow the franchise. That is understandable, but it is challenging.
The biggest challenge for viewers is in episodes 4, 5, and 6, which introduced Hello Happy World, ... Pastel Palettes, and Afterglow. We meet 15 new characters in 3 episodes, and there is not enough time to learn their personalities, names, and faces.
In contrast, the girls from Roselia had a cameo in season 1 (and an appearance in the season 1 OVA), and the girls from Raise a Suilen are introduced gradually throughout this season.
When I watched this season, I did not expect them to introduce so many characters, and I did not know why they were doing it. This made me feel overwhelmed.
If you are a newcomer, I assure you that you will learn all the characters eventually. Do not worry if you do not learn them immediately. You will be able to follow the central plot of the season without learning all the characters. Relax and enjoy the story. You can learn more about the characters later by playing the mobile game or watching the mini anime, Garupa Pico. That is what I did.
For example, I was especially confused in episode 4 when Michelle (the big pink bear DJ) was introduced. Later I learned that Kokoro is a naive girl, and Michelle is a gundam created by her wealthy family to allow Misaki to pretend to be Michelle.

Also, I was confused about the direction of the show. I expected Poppin' Party to continue being the main focus of the show after season 1, but there was an early focus on Roselia (including the use of Roselia songs for the OP and ED). The direction became clear in the second half, so it was okay in the end.

The use of CG for everything is a big change from season 1, which used CG for the performances only. You get used to it. It doesn't bother me anymore.

> What do I like?

The music was good, and the six bands provide plenty of variety. All of the songs are available in the mobile game, so you can get extra enjoyment from them.

Cute girls doing cute things.

I know the list of things I like looks short, but music and cute girls is the purpose of the show. Mission accomplished.

Conclusion: Bandori season 2 had a big job to do. Their introduction of the 25 new characters was rough, but doing it smoothly wasn't possible. It was okay. It could've been worse. This season has good music and cute girls, and you can complement this season with Garupa Pico and season 3 and the mobile game to enhance your enjoyment of Bandori.